To Mandalay or Not to Mandalay?
 

Hi, We (family of 5 including 2 teenage boys and 1 pre-teen girl) are going to Myanmar for 2 weeks in December/January. Our itinerary has us arriving and staying in Yangon for 2 days, then flying up to Heho so we can trek Kalaw to Inle, then stay at Inle 2 days. From there, we plan to go up to Mandalay for 1-2 days and then take a boat down the Irrawady to Bagan where we will stay for 3-4 days before flying back to Yangon and then home again to San Francisco.
I'm trying not to take so many flights (right now, flights are Yangon to Heho, and then Bagan back to Yangon), and planned to hire someone to drive us from Inle Lake up to Mandalay, but am wondering if it is worth it to go all the way up to Mandalay. Would it make more sense to slow down and spend an extra day in Inle and an extra day in Bagan instead?
Also, any idea how to find a driver/car to take us from Inle to either Mandalay or Bagan? Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

"Would it make more sense to slow down and spend an extra day in Inle and an extra day in Bagan instead?"

I think that's a definite "yes", given you aren't going to be in either of the other places very long. I did a slow trip around all the areas you mention and the only place, in hindsight, I wouldn't bother visiting would be Mandalay.

Mandalay is the least compelling of the "big four." There are interesting things to be seen in the Ancient Cities, but I expect the kids would be bored. If it were me - and it isn't - I'd cut Mandalay. Add time to both Inle and Bagan.

How to get a good driver with a vehicle large enough for all of you? Contact a local travel agent in Yangon or Mandalay. There are lots of good local agents. I've used Santa Maria (in Yangon) for all three of our trips.

You could factor in something a little different like the train from Mandalay to Pwin oo Lwin...

http://www.seat61.com/Burma.htm#Mandalay - Pyin Oo Lwin

And spend a night there...

http://wikitravel.org/en/Pyin_U_Lwin

Kalaw is a lovely little place, far from the tour groups, and worth an overnight before trekking to Inle.

Three days in Bagan is plenty. Make sure you have a walk up Mount Popa.

Thank you all so much! Super helpful advice, and pretty much confirms what I was thinking. I think I just needed someone to say "go ahead and skip it." We have done a ton of SE Asia travel with the kids (took a year off with them last year to travel around the world - 4 months of which was in Asia) so I'm hoping for very Burmese-like experiences, not just typical SE Asian, if that makes sense. I LOVE the idea of Pyin U Lwin, LancasterLad, but worry that its a ton of travel.
Do you know of any places between Inle and Bagan that would offer a uniquely Burmese experience? I'm a bit obsessed with small towns with fewer Americans (or foreigners in general) - although I realize that is a bit tougher in the holiday peak season.
Again, thank you all - you have probably just taken a bunch of travel hours out of our trip, which will make my kids much happier. :)

Trek or no trek, I too would have recommended Kalaw. It's a small town but if you love small, relatively untouristed places as you say and as I do, consider a couple of days there before moving on.

I'm glad people are recommending Kalaw, I have it in my itinerary when we head off to Myanmar next week. :)

Regarding Kalaw, if the question is "what is there to do in Kalaw", skip it, there's nothing to do in Kalaw. But if the idea is to hang out a bit in a quiet place with friendly people who talk to you while you eat, and if you're someone who sees a long flight of stairs up a hillside and you'll climb it to see where it goes, Kalaw may very well be your kind of town. I loved it.

I got to Kalaw by train from the Inle area, returned by taxi. If you're considering taking the train, read my blog first:

http://www.travelgumbo.com/blog/the-...n-in-the-world

MmePerdu, Thank you! We are totally the climb stairs up a mountain just to see where they lead type of travelers, so we will love Kalaw. As it stands, we only have 1 night there before heading off on our trek, but I'm glad that we'll have fun while there. We aren't going to take the train, I don't think - pickup at Heho by our hotel in Kalaw, and then we shall see what we find for leaving there!

I thought I'd love Pyin U Lwin, but I didn't. The military presence was simply overwhelming when we were there in 2011. The generals were pulling down the old British houses and putting up McMansions; the several military academies meant that we saw soldiers everywhere - the streets, the markets, etc. The botanical garden was nice. I would go out of my way to get there.

Have a wonderful trip!

Try out Sam's Restaurant in Kalaw. It's owned by a delightful Nepalese family, who also happen to run a trekking company.

I would probably skip Mandalay too, and do more day trips from Inle and Bagan. Around Inle, I strongly recommend venturing into Pa'O land and visiting Kakku. It was one of the highlights of our trip; check out my blog post for more details:
http://bonatravels.com/2015/06/08/be...lake-pao-land/